Dog walking business name / trademark

[doggybiz12]

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Hi All
New to this group.
I am looking for some guidance / advice.

My daughter is starting a dog walking business in Harrogate, North Yorks and had originally picked a business / trading name.

However, she has been contacted by the owner of a similar sounding business in the locality, who informed her that she had trademarked the similar sounding name and would be contacting the IPO to enforce it.

I suspect this other business 'holds the cards' and that my daughter will have to rename her business.

Can anyone advise how to prevent another occurrence of this conflict in future if she renames her business now? Does anyone have experience of picking a similar sounding name for their business that was trademarked?
is it best to search the trademark database? but also what constitutes a 'similar' name ? Any advice is greatly appreciated for this young entrepreneur.

Best wishes,
James

 

[JoanneF]

I'm not sure whether any of our members will have that knowledge, as it's more to do with business law than with pets. You never know, though, perhaps someone will have had similar experience.

In any case, I hope your daughter's business is successful and if we can offer any advice on dogs, please don't hesitate to ask us about that!

 

[Flobo]

Company name availability checker - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

You could try searching here at companies house. I think I did this when I set up my business. It does also show similar names I believe so you don't pick something too close. And good luck for your daughter!

Just to add I think it's this one that covers sole traders too, but you might want to double check!